Growing Up in Mississippi
June Johnson
From Trinity College SNCC Reunion, April 1988

[June Johnson was in high
school when SNCC came to Greenwood in 1962. She and her mother quickly
became two of the dedicated activists who were the heart and soul of the
Freedom Movement in Greenwood.]

Growing up in Mississippi I never had the opportunity to have a summer
vacation. My vacation was either cleaning some white person's house or
going to chop cotton in the Mississippi Delta — that was
the gist of my summer activities before my getting involved with SNCC.

And it was a sense of frustration growing up. We heard about the Emmett Till
situation and really didn't understand a lot of what happened other than the
fact that a black boy had been castrated, murdered, and thrown into the
Tallahatchie River. There was not a lot of conversation based on our
parents' fear, they wanted to continue to live and survive within that
community. And I saw additional things happen, not just outside of my family
but directly to my family, my mother in particular (who was, by the way,
very active in SNCC and kept everybody very healthy — I
think Guyot and Julian and Judy Richardson and Dorie and many others ate
pieces of her corn bread because she was the cook for SNCC).

And I think as a result of my going to jail in 1963 in Winona, and coming
out, learning that Medgar had been killed, after being beaten very badly in
the Winona jail and having to suffer and see the suffering of Mrs. Hamer, I
made a commitment to myself from that day; I didn't care what happened to
me, I was going to be free or continue to be a part of a struggle to fight
for the freedom of people of this country. And when I walked out of jail in
1963, I knew nothing else, and I have not done anything else in my life but
struggle from the time that I got involved in the movement in Mississippi.

And one of the biggest enjoyments that I've ever had in my life is to have
met those persons that came to my hometown and taught me to become a
first-class citizen. And I take this opportunity to say to each of you, I am
appreciative of that and I'm glad that you taught me how to fight for the
rights of those who cannot fight for themselves.